Chapter 2

The week had barely begun before Theodore ruined it.

The handover that was supposed to land on my desk never came. Even the interns who used to greet me with polite nods now made a point of detouring around me in the hallway.

Whispers clung to me like a shadow I could not shake.

"Disgusting. Her sister just passed, and she's already this eager."

"Good performance means nothing. With that attitude, she'll be gone sooner or later."

When the day finally came to an end, I packed up and stood to leave, only to collide head-on with Theodore's assistant, Joyce Cooper.

She was holding a stack of documents. The moment she saw me, she rolled her eyes without even trying to hide it. "Ms. Hartwell, Mr. Wesley wants you in his office. He says it's urgent."

I looked at her, feeling a sense of helplessness rise within me.

When Joyce first joined the company, she had been sidelined by senior staff for not understanding the work. I was the one who taught her how to build reports and handle clients. We had even eaten together a few times outside of work.

But ever since Theodore began twisting his words and spreading rumors about me, her attitude toward me had changed entirely.

I knew she was pressured into exhaustion by Theodore and had started believing the rumors, assuming I was no better than he was.

"Got it," I replied calmly.

I pulled out a sticky note, quickly wrote my home address on it, and handed it over. "If you can trust me one more time, come and meet me at my place."

She shot me a puzzled look. Her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she took the sticky note and said nothing.

I didn't say anything else and turned to leave.

When I pushed open Theodore's office door, he was lounging in his chair, smoking.

As I stepped in, he tapped the document on his desk. "Meg, this is a new client's pre-launch promotion plan. I want it revised tonight. You can stay here and work on it. If anything comes up, we'll discuss it immediately."

There it was again.

I walked straight over, grabbed the document, and threw it at his face. The papers scattered across the floor.

Theodore's expression darkened instantly. He shot up from his chair and shouted, "Megan Hartwell! Have you lost your mind?"

I let out a cold laugh. "Theodore, cut the act. You want me to revise it in your office so people will misunderstand me even more. That way, it's easier for you to control me, isn't it?"

He spat on the floor and threatened darkly, "Megan, don't push it. You know exactly what your reputation is like in this company.

"If I choose to make things hard for you, I can make sure you won't last in this industry. As for the overseas placement, one word from me and you'll never get that opportunity."

I looked at him, at his pathetic attempt to sound powerful, and found it almost laughable.

He probably still didn't know that I had been personally recruited by the president three years ago. She had promised to train me properly, and once the time was right, I would join her in expanding overseas and return as her deputy.

Over these three years, I had worked my way up in branch offices. My performance kept improving over time, and I had long since proven myself to her.

This so-called overseas assignment had never been anything more than something I chose not to make a big deal about. I never expected it would end up giving someone like him leverage.

"Theodore, you really think too highly of yourself. I used to show you respect because of my sister. Now, you're nothing but trash."

With that, I turned and walked out, leaving him behind to vent his rage and slam things around.

When I got to the underground parking lot, I stopped in my tracks as a sudden thought struck me.

Was Beatrice's car accident really just an accident?

Theodore had always played the role of a decent husband. And because Beatrice had died while driving to the airport to pick me up, guilt had blinded me to everything else.

But now that I thought about it carefully, Beatrice had always been a careful driver. Why would she have taken a road that was under maintenance, especially in the middle of a heavy rainstorm?

And what about Theodore? Had he really been working late at the office that night?

I clenched my fists without realizing it.

Whether her death was an accident or something else entirely, I was going to unearth the truth.